Rooted in Hull celebrates first year of Hull College partnership

14th March 2018

Rooted in Hull celebrated their first
successful year, working with Hull College to create Urban Agriculture
facilities, with the unveiling of the new shipping container built by students.
On Friday 9 March, the containers were transported from the college working
space to the Rooted in Hull site to begin their use.

In January 2017, Rooted in Hull began a partnership with
Hull College, developing an innovative community project to help local people
access farming and agriculture facilities in deprived areas.

The project has now hit its 1-year milestone and now has
more than 30 local businesses that have joined, including H7P, Bonus
Electrical, River City Coffee, Humberwood Recycling, Jewsons, Atom Brewery,
Moduflow Plumbers and many more.

The project has involved students of all levels from Hull
College’s School of Construction, and has provided essential and invaluable
work experience to the learners.

Darren Storrer, Carpentry and Joinery Course Leader said, “This
project has been a real bonus to our students and gives them opportunities to
hone the skills needed in the world of employment. It gives learners
a focus, as well as life and employability skills and teaches them to follow
instructions.”

The project launched by Rooted in Hull, aims to create
unique micro agriculture within the heart of the City of Hull and is based on
the concept of a Farm in a Box. Having seen examples of the high standard of
work carried out Hull College’s Job Club, Rooted in Hull decided to open the
project up to the learners studying there.

The work inside the containers was all completed by Hull
College students, from panelling the interiors with wood, insulating the walls,
installing electrics, painting and decorating and all of the finishing touches
such as hanging doors.

Once delivered, the containers can be used to help local
people escape food poverty and a free to use to grow fruit and vegetables, and
the standard of the work already carried has now gained the students with
further work building street furniture for Hull’s newly regenerated city
centre.

Adrian Fisher, the man behind the project said, “We now have
over 30 businesses partnering with us in some way. Interestingly their main
commitment to us has been around the fact that we work with Hull College. The
majority of businesses I talk to all say the same thing 'there is a shortage of
young people coming into the industry' that seems to be around construction. Another
partner, Hobson & Porter have, and are, committing a lot of resources into
the development of young people.”

Following the completion of the first containers last year,
which have been used on the site as offices, the latest shipping containers
have now been completed and are ready to transport to the Rooted in Hull
site. The delivery of these containers
is the perfect occasion to celebrate a successful first year of this innovative
and inspiring project and to look forward to the many more milestones to
follow.